Myelin News and Research

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Myelin is the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.

Location of altered brain metabolite levels found in bipolar I patients

Bipolar I disorder patients have increased phospholipid levels in the thalami and increased N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the left hippocampus compared with healthy individuals, a team of investigators has discovered.

5 Feb 2013

Potential connection between autism and insulin-like growth factor

A New York-based physician-researcher from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, best known for his research into fertility and twinning, has uncovered a potential connection between autism and a specific growth protein that could eventually be used as a way to predict an infant's propensity to later develop the disease.

2 Feb 2013

Klotho protein plays important role in the health of myelin

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) led by Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry, along with Cidi Chen, PhD, and other collaborators, report that the protein Klotho plays an important role in the health of myelin, the insulating material allowing for the rapid communication between nerve cells.

31 Jan 2013

Androgens could constitute an efficient treatment against multiple sclerosis

Testosterone and its derivatives could constitute an efficient treatment against myelin diseases such as multiple sclerosis, reveals a study by researchers from the Laboratoire d'Imagerie et de Neurosciences Cognitives, in collaboration in particular with the "Neuroprotection et Neurorégénération: Molécules Neuroactives de Petite Taille" unit.

30 Jan 2013

Quantitative MRIs evade multiple sclerosis clinicoradiologic paradox

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging can detect microstructural changes in the spinal cords of patients with multiple sclerosis that correlate with observed differences in clinical disability, according to a cross-sectional study in Neurology.

28 Jan 2013

LM11A-31 effective at improving limb movement after spinal cord injury in mice

An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows.

10 Jan 2013

Extensive white matter abnormalities in early schizophrenia

Patients with first-episode schizophrenia exhibit widespread white matter abnormalities, results from a brain imaging study show.

4 Jan 2013

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Research led by Paola Leone, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), demonstrates the long term safety and benefit of a virus-based gene therapy that has been applied for the first time in a clinical setting.

21 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Reduced production of myelin may play role in development of mental illness: Study

Reduced production of myelin, a type of protective nerve fiber that is lost in diseases like multiple sclerosis, may also play a role in the development of mental illness, according to researchers at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

1 Dec 2012

Reduction in myelin production may also play a role in development of mental illness

29 Nov 2012

High-resolution real-time images show how nerves may be damaged during earliest stages of MS

High-resolution real-time images show in mice how nerves may be damaged during the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis. The results suggest that the critical step happens when fibrinogen, a blood-clotting protein, leaks into the central nervous system and activates immune cells called microglia.

28 Nov 2012

Specific combination of two pharmaceutical substances show promise against multiple sclerosis

A new substance class for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases now promises increased efficacy paired with fewer side effects. To achieve this, a team of scientists under the leadership of Prof. Gunter Fischer and Dr. Frank Striggow have combined two already approved pharmaceutical substances with each other using a chemical linker structure.

27 Nov 2012

Mental activities like reading and writing can preserve structural integrity in the brains of older people

Mental activities like reading and writing can preserve structural integrity in the brains of older people, according to a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

26 Nov 2012

Apitope announces completion of recruitment in ATX-MS-1467 Phase I trial for MS

Apitope, the European drug discovery and development company focused on treating the underlying cause of autoimmune diseases, today announced completion of recruitment into its second Phase I clinical trial of ATX-MS-1467 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

26 Nov 2012

Lymphopenia driven diseases and the orphan drug industry: an interview with Damian Marron, CEO of Cytheris

Lymphopenia is when you lack the T cells of your immune system. T cells are very important for controlling infection. Probably the most known cause of lymphopenia is HIV.

23 Nov 2012

Study: 2-PMPA improves cognition in mice with MS

Johns Hopkins researchers report the successful use of a form of MRI to identify what appears to be a key biochemical marker for cognitive impairment in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In follow-up experiments on mice with a rodent form of MS, researchers were able to use an experimental compound to manipulate that same marker and dramatically improve learning and memory.

21 Nov 2012

Small non-coding RNA715 plays an important role in regulating myelin formation in the CNS

Scientists at the Mainz University Medical Center have discovered another molecule that plays an important role in regulating myelin formation in the central nervous system.

21 Nov 2012

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

19 Nov 2012

NIH-funded scientists develop new treatment to combat autoimmune disorders in mouse model

In a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed innovative technology to selectively inhibit the part of the immune system responsible for attacking myelin-the insulating material that encases nerve fibers and facilitates electrical communication between brain cells.

18 Nov 2012